Putin and the Torah

Rejoicing with the Torah because it is an exceptional book that has made us exceptional.

Till now the best definition of chutzpah was probably that given by Leo Rosten in his classic work, The Joys of Yiddish: “Chutzpah is that quality enshrined in a man who, having killed his mother and father, throws himself on the mercy of the court because he is an orphan."

In the aftermath of the by now infamous op-ed piece in the New York Times by Vladimir Putin, the Russian President might well be a serious contender for the title.

Speaking out strongly against a possible military response by the United States against his Syrian ally for the monstrous crime of using internationally forbidden chemical weapons, Putin dons the mantle of ethical advisor to offer us what he calls “A Plea for Caution from Russia.” Head of a regime known for its indifference to human life, its support of totalitarian dictatorships, and its history of hostility to religion, Putin has the gall to close his piece by reminding us that “when we ask for the Lord’s blessings, we must not forget that God created us equal.”

The man who has been providing heavy weaponry to Assad’s regime, the better for them to batter towns and villages filled with civilian women and children, and who has systematically blocked any UN Security Council action – even to reprimand Syria for its many wanton crimes – feels no shame as he offers hypocritical pieties. Sanctimoniously, Putin claims to stand variously with the Pope, those who honor international law and seek regional stability, human rights activists and peace-loving people throughout the world. Perhaps the only thing missing from his piece is a reminder to those who might publicly disagree with him that their fate might be the same as that meted out to the members of the feminist punk band who were imprisoned for being insufficiently respectful to the Russian leader.

Reaction to this highly unusual op-ed was almost unanimously negative. Vice President Biden spoke for many when he said it “made him want to vomit.” But one point Putin made did strike a chord. For those who live by the ideal of political correctness it served to open a widely disseminated discussion. Perhaps, comes the voice of the naïve swayed by beautiful sounding platitudes, Putin was correct when he criticized President Obama for putting forward the idea of American exceptionalism.

“It is extremely dangerous,” Putin wrote, “to encourage people to see themselves as exceptional, whatever the motivation.” Exceptional means better. And that idea – the idea that some people can rise above others by dint of hard work, uncompromising commitment to personal growth and steadfast adherence to sacred values – seems anathema not only to communism but to many who live by the creed of cultural relativism.

For them nobody is better than anybody else. No people have greater claim to moral superiority than any others. Exceptionalism is a dirty word.

Jews need to take pride in the fact that it has been our Torah that served to civilize the world.

As politically incorrect as it might be to say it, we need to remember that exceptionalism is the key to civilization, and we Jews need to take pride in the fact that it has been our Torah, our teaching of morality and ethics that served to civilize the world.

Emmanuel Kant did not hesitate in expressing the exceptionalism of the Jews and the Jewish Bible: “The existence of the Bible as a book for the people of the world is the greatest benefit which the human race has ever experienced. Every attempt to belittle it is a crime against society.”

The Catholic writer Thomas Cahill was so overwhelmed by his study of the Jewish contribution to world civilization that he authored what proved to become an international bestseller, The Gifts of the Jews. The Jews, he concluded, literally transformed the world.

The Jews not only discovered monotheism, but they then explained why that made God different from all the pagan gods worshiped until that time. The Jewish God is above nature; witchcraft and sorcery simply have no meaning for Jews. Such practices suggest that humans can manipulate God. A God who can be manipulated is made in man’s image. Jews believe the reverse, that man is created in God’s image.

Cahill believes that the ultimate breakthrough in humanity’s understanding of God came with the Jewish perception that God “is a real personality who has intervened in real history, changing its course and robbing it of predictability.” God is more than the Force of Star Wars; he is the “I” of the first commandment: “I am the Lord your God who took you out of the land of Egypt, the house of bondage.” God interacts with man and intercedes in history.

The Jews not only introduced the world to God but to his book as well. The Torah, transmitted from Moses to the Jewish people, has nurtured Christianity and Islam, Judaism’s two daughter religions. Its teachings provided the soil for democratic ideals and the seeds of Western civilization.

From the Torah, Cahill explains, the world learned the meaning of spirituality. Pagan gods, being physical, wanted physical things from their worshipers. Not so the God of the Jews. As Cahill puts it, “God wanted something other than blood and smoke, buildings and citadels. He wanted justice, mercy, humility. He wanted what was invisible… There is no way of exaggerating how strange a thought this was… The word that fall so easily from our lips – spiritual – had no real counterpart in the ancient world.”

That is why the Bible continues to be the world’s biggest best-seller. And that is why we have a special holiday dedicated to rejoicing with the Torah, Simchat Torah.

It is a holiday whose very theme is exceptionalism. It is the exceptionalism of our ancestors who stood at Sinai and responded yes to the challenge of accepting the Torah when the rest of the world was as yet unwilling or unready. It is the exceptionalism of our people who in spite of persecution – and oft times even martyrdom – held fast to those values which God proclaimed as the only reason for the world’s continued survival. It is the exceptionalism of Torah that stands above all other works written by man, whose divine truths illuminate our path and make life worth living.

We rejoice with the Torah on Simchat Torah because it is an exceptional book that has made us exceptional – and if that bothers President Putin, perhaps that gives us all the more reason for celebrating.

Featured at Aish.com:

About the Author

Rabbi Benjamin Blech, a frequent contributor to Aish, is a Professor of Talmud at Yeshiva University and an internationally recognized educator, religious leader, and lecturer. He is the author of 19 highly acclaimed books with combined sales of over a half million copies, A much sought after speaker, he is available as scholar in residence in your community. See his website at rabbibenjaminblech.com.

The opinions expressed in the comment section are the personal views of the commenters. Comments are moderated, so please keep it civil.

Visitor Comments: 25

(23)
Barbara Herrmann,
October 16, 2017 10:24 PM

Rabbi Blech, thank you for setting the record straight!

Your comments --simply put, Judaism's Creator is just the opposite of Islam's Destroyer. We must never forget this fact. Thank you, Rabbi Blech.

(22)
Rose Morales,
October 12, 2017 2:54 AM

This is an excellent article! As to the comment left by Alexis Worlock, I completely Agree! I need not say anything else, except Shalom!

(21)
Oswaldo Alvarez,
October 11, 2017 2:14 PM

Thank you!

Thank you very much Rabbi Blech!!

(20)
Morris Givner,
October 11, 2017 5:06 AM

The Ten Commandments AreThe World's Greatest Treasure

If one would follow the 10 Commandments,the world would be at Peace.The essence of Judaism is to behave towards others as you would want them to treat you.

(19)
Anonymous,
October 6, 2015 7:33 PM

chemical weapons

putin arranged for he destruction of assad's chemical weapons and he is fighting islamic militants from chechnya in syria and got in their b4 the americans did and bibi doesn't have a problem with him

(18)
Bobby5000,
October 6, 2015 2:17 AM

Obama and Reagan

Let's be not overly simplistic.

Obama was criticized by the right for not opposing Assad. s Weak, does not stand up to evil. Then Isis arose, Assad's enemy, and the right switched saying Obama was not tough enough because he failed to adequately oppose Isis.

Consider Reagan, everyone's favorite conservative. Once president, he did not oppose Iran, indeed he did a deal with them. And Saddam Hussein, apparently periodically helped, certainly tolerated. And how the Afghan leaders, now the Taliban who stood up to communism and Soviet domination. Many now say that taking down Hussein was a mistake.

I agree with the main, important point of this article: the value to the world of the exceptionalism of the Torah and what it teaches. I must correct one error, however. This sentence is problematic:"The Torah, transmitted from Moses to the Jewish people, has nurtured Christianity and Islam, Judaism’s two daughter religions."

Islam is not a 'daughter religion' to Judaism--it is, in fact, almost completely antithetical. Although it has borrowed liberally from phrases, names, and -- in very fractured and distorted or inverted form -- stories from the Torah, these are purely superficial or, worse, perversions of the Torah's history and personages.

The main point of supposed similarity between Judaism and Islam is "monotheism". This, however, is once again a case not of commonality but rather opposition. The One worshipped in Judaism is the Creator, Who loves life, Who teaches compassion, morality, and a universal code of ethics that requires that all descendants of Adam and Eve--all human beings--be treated with justice, fairness, honesty, and compassion.

The one deity worshipped in Islam is a destroyer whose worshippers are required to murder in his name; who loves death not life; who is best honored in the commission of 'jihad' which is (despite the smokescreen sometimes put up for propaganda purposes) armed struggle for the conquest of the entire world for Allah by the sword; and who teaches that it is okay to lie, rape, steal from, and murder non-Muslims; that honesty, fairness and justice are required only in one's treatment of one's fellow Muslims, and that infidels must be "dealt with harshly" and, if they won't convert, killed.

This is no off-shoot of Judaism. Period.

(16)
Anonymous,
October 4, 2015 7:51 AM

Obama did not put forth the idea of American exceptionalism

"Perhaps....Putin was correct when he criticized President Obama for putting forward the idea of American exceptionalism." The truth is that President Obama did not put forth the idea of American exceptionalism. He did just the opposite, putting down the accomplishments of the United States and grandiosely inflating the accomplishments of Muslim countries. He has done his best to bring our country down and to elevate those who want to destroy us and our way of life.

(15)
Anonymous,
September 27, 2015 5:52 PM

Dictator

Mr. Putin is a dictator of the 1st order! Trust him, believe his comments/justifications, regard him in any constructive manner...NO WAY. Trust him as far as one can toss a Steinway & Sons concert piano across a philharmonic stage!!Mr. Putin is power-hungry, an absolute ADDICT to absolute power and hidden foreign bank wealth!!

"Everyone is after us", he exclaims while he builds his military, STIRS nationalistic fervor, and continues to stash is hidden foreign bank wealth. Strange, but I've heard of more people wanting to buy tropical islands than I've ever-ever-ever heard from anyone wanting to invade and take A-N-Y portion of Russia. Russia is a fine and good country. Their people are good and proud people. Allowing Putin to mercilessly, irresponsibly and un-necessarily drag his fine country and fine people through his self-created, self-imposed sludge so he can attain his crazy goals of "greatness" is a re-defining of the word "travesty".

(14)
Anonymous,
October 6, 2013 12:19 PM

How have politicized Jews come into place

Giving ourselves as if another face

Our connection is to the Torah and not

to the vagracies of politics which uses us

as a test

(13)
Miriam,
September 24, 2013 8:46 PM

don't let them redefine exceptionalism

The communist philosophy attempts to whitewash the idea, by neglecting to acknowledge that when we say exceptionalism, we mean what someone has EARNED.

(12)
Moshe J. Belcher,
September 24, 2013 4:26 PM

An international treasure is what the Rabbi is

Rabbi Blech tells it like it is. Putin is not a monotheist despite what he might say, and even despite Biden saying it “made him want to vomit.” (How does Biden know what makes Putin vomit?)How true -- God is more then the force of Star Wars. Greater then Batman II too. Its time Putin learns this. Good for you, Rabbi!

(11)
Suzanne,
September 23, 2013 10:33 PM

This was a great article ...

...and every word of it true.

(10)
Kaka Caleb,
September 23, 2013 2:13 PM

Appreciation

Dear Editor,

This is just a short note to thank you for the worth reading as well sharing articles that i have been receiving from you. Suffice to say they news you have sending me have been of great help in my understanding of our Jewish brothers and sisters. It is from this kind of information that we as christians take courage and confidence to stand by Israel and its people.

(9)
Irene,
September 23, 2013 12:24 PM

Exceptional, yes, pride, no

Exceptionalism is not the problem. Pride is. So say the Torah as well. We are actually NOT created Equal. This should be obvious for everyone. Even man and woman are different. We are though created With Equal Value. Those who are exceptional, are made so, to serve the others With their gifting. They are NOT made exceptional to become proud and belittle other People and reduce their Value. This is the teaching of Our beloved Torah as well. Let's rejoice in it!

Anonymous,
September 26, 2013 10:03 PM

Are We Equal or Not

Irene write a very perceptive comment: all of us are DIFFERENT: men and women, young or old, healthy and ill, clever and not so clever, educated and not educated etc., etc.. Actually, no two human beings are really "equal". And Torah, esp. Oral Tora and commentators a make this very clear. E.g., 600 male Jews lefty Egypt. If you add women and children, it would be easily 3 million or more. So there exist 600,000 human soul "types", and that emphasizes differences between people. Also, when our sages differ inb their opinions - in many a case this is a difference "frorn the sake of Heaven" - and so BOTH sides are right! How can Tora say that people are equal when they are, quite obviously, not? What equates us? Each of us was created in G-d image and likeness. And there is just One G-d, not two or three. And this is what makes us equal. This powerful message is the cornerstone of all human civilization - for example, democratic forms of government, dignity of EACH human individual and, really, the very air which we breath in - often not noticing it. We repeat that we are "equal" - often not thinking what it really menas. This may be the most revolutionary idea in all our history: that G-d is One, all of us are created in His image and likeness, and this means that we have equal rights..

Dvirah,
October 15, 2014 11:29 AM

Agree

The irony is that the Torah itself emphasizes equality of worth, as opposed to a class system (such as Feudalism or the Hindi Caste system) while (pardoxically) simultaneously teaching the uniqueness of each individual thru its emphasis on the personal responsibility of each individual.

Linguistically in English we also have a semantic problem in that the same word - "equal" - is used in different contexts with different meanings. Mathematically "equal" means "exactly alike in all particulars" - a definition which leaves no room for individuality - and this confuses the issue when the same word is used to refer to polical rights alone. It may be this confusion which allows polical leaders to view their populations as interchangeable parts instead of unique individuals.

(8)
Anonymous,
September 23, 2013 5:13 AM

Self-destructive urge still strong . . .

Stop supporting the Democratic party while we still have a chance for Israel to survive: The Anti-Semitic game plan of Zbigniew Brzezinski implemented by Carter [put the Ayatollah back in power in Iran], was overtly anti-Israel -- then Clinton and his promises convinced Israel to pull out of Southern Lebanon and to allow Arafat & Co. back into Israel . . . how was Israel rewarded by its 'friend'? Remember Hilary kissing Arafat? Suicide bombers were our reward . . . and now, we have Barack HUSSEIN Obama, supporter of the 'Arab spring' that brought Islamic terrorists to power in Libya (remember his apology to the UN for the video that he said CAUSED the attack in Benghazi on September 11th?!?) - and in Egypt . . . and now wants them to take over Syria . . . Turkey is a member of NATO -- why is Israel NOT? Pulling out of Lebanon just moved rockets closer to Israel . . . pulling out of GAZA gave HAMAS a stronghold . . . and you criticize Putin and praise Biden? This administration declared the Ft Hood shootings to be 'workplace violence' - not terrorism -- WAKE UP!

(7)
Devorah,
September 23, 2013 2:44 AM

Nothing good being presented.

Hello, When I looked at the situation of Assad vs Al Qaeda, Putin vs. O...hard for me to say his name due to my dislike, I see NOTHING good being presented. However, even if Putin's comments weren't all in keeping with his character, they may have been enough to deter Americans from going into battle with a country that even tho it is not the most ideal, is BETTER than the one trying to take over. So, it always amazes me that anyone could attribute horror at that trying to be stopped. I did, however, like the ending.

(6)
joshua,
September 23, 2013 2:42 AM

great article

Thank you nation of Israel for illuminating us with the Bible, which laid the foundations of civilization.

(5)
Zyggy,
September 23, 2013 12:29 AM

Well one step forward .. Hopefully

Well at least He mentioned G-d, not like Stalin,!And may He not forguet that He has sowhow the same plague inside His country!, He might have terror atacks ALSO... And then. ..what will He say

(4)
Chris Rettenmoser,
September 22, 2013 8:09 PM

So true !

The Torah IS the book of true spirituality and the "New Testament" is the big book of paganism...that has escaped Cahill...

(3)
Melvyn S. Berger,
September 22, 2013 4:48 PM

like all the rest

Putin supports all of the other dictators. If there was true freedom and democracy in those countries, the dictators would all be thrown out including Putin.

(2)
michael yastrab,
September 22, 2013 3:30 PM

as usual, a phenomenal piece

(1)
dannykid,
September 22, 2013 1:37 PM

Putin and exceptionalism

You can say a lot about Putin's hypocracy but you are wrong about his support of Assad. He understands that though Assad is A bad guy, he is not THE bad guy. When "100,000 dead" is mentioned it always implies that is Assad's doing. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) breaks down the Syrian deaths in the civil war as follows: Civilians 40,146, rebels 21,850, pro-regime soldiers and militia 45,469, Hizbullah 171, unidentified 2,726, total 110,371.